


Taking Care of Dad

by Slytherin_Gal



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Human AU, Little Sides, Little Space, M/M, People are so frickin blind, Polyamory, Sorry Patton, Swearing, Wetting yourself
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-12 07:57:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15990974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slytherin_Gal/pseuds/Slytherin_Gal
Summary: Virgil looked on in horror as Patton sobbed on the floor. He’d seen his friend cry before, but this was different. This seemed...younger, for lack of a better word.(So I suck at tagging and summarizing. This is a little space fic. Reviews are wonderful!)





	1. Chapter 1

Patton was the dad friend. There was no doubt about it. He flitted through the group, making sure everyone ate and was happy. He cracked puns that the others pretended to hate, and he was just there for everyone. Sure, sometimes he forgot to take care of himself in the process, but it made him happy to see the others happy.  ~~It also quieted the little voice he had in his head that constantly told him he was worthless.~~  

And sometimes his famILY had bad days. Sometimes they were just so stressed that they did and said things that they didn’t mean. Like today. Everyone was struggling with something or the other.

Logan had an important astronomy meeting in which he was the keynote speaker. Patton was really happy for him, but now Logan spent most of his time cooped up in his room. Patton knew that the speech was really important to Logan’s career, but the kiddo wasn’t eating properly or drinking water. So Patton paid Logan a little visit. He knocked on the door and was answered by a grunted ‘Come in’

Patton saw a disheveled Logan, tie loosened but not off, indicating that the man hadn’t slept yet. “Kiddo, how’s it going?” Logan shrugged and ran a hand through his hair, not turning around to acknowledge Patton. Patton frowned. Logan always made it a point to respond verbally. Something was really wrong. “Logan, you don’t look so good. You know, constant work isn’t good for you. Maybe you should take a break for breakfast, I’ll go-” 

Logan turned around and Patton cut himself off when he saw the full toll the lack of care had taken. Logan had dark bags under his eyes, his glasses were off, his hair an uncharacteristic mess, and he was massaging the bridge of his nose.  ~~Even with all that, he was still as handsome as ever.~~ ~~~~Patton was so lost in thought he barely realized that Logan had begun to speak.

“Patton, I do not have the time for this. I am functioning just fine as I am. This project is important and I cannot afford any distractions.” ~~You, you’re the distraction~~   ~~~~“As of right now I am the main source of income for our household, since none of you want to take a meaningful job.” ~~You’re a useless waste of space~~ “I don’t believe you know more about my body than you do. So please Patton just-just leave.”  ~~Fuck off, dumbass.~~

Patton hid his pain behind a bright smile and silently reprimanded the voice in his head. ~~You know I’m right.~~ _Not now._ ~~So you do.~~ Ignoring the battle in his head, he chirped, “Okay Logan! Don’t forget to rest, kiddo!” He shut the door quietly behind him and headed to the kitchen to make breakfast and drown his sorrows by drinking.

When he had the eggs frying, he pulled out the golden liquid he had been drinking so much of recently. He opened the cap and sniffed. Ahhh. The nectar of the gods. Apple juice. He looked at the clock. He had about ten more minutes. He contemplated using his-no, no. Ten minutes was too little time. He poured the juice and drank about five glassful. He didn’t know why, but he felt really foggy this morning. Probably just a cold. Well, all the more reason for juice. He drank two more as he set the table and was nursing his eighth as Roman flounced downstairs and plopped dramatically into his seat.

Patton smiled. This was a regular occurrence. The thespian would read or see something that would set him off into a sulk. The face he made was  ~~attractive~~ endearing. But the smile faded as Patton noticed the tears in Roman’s eyes. “Kiddo, you okay?” 

Roman shook his head vigorously. “No Padre everything is not okay. Listen.” Roman launched into a high speed rap. He was playing Lafayette in the theater company’s rendition of Hamilton. Patton nodded along, enjoying the beat until Roman stopped suddenly, groaning. 

Patton was confused. “Roman, that was wonderful.”

Roman looked outraged. “Wonderful? I didn’t remember the next lyric. And my diction? Atrocious! Though,” he said, more to himself, “who am I asking for feedback from?” 

Patton didn’t let himself wince like he wanted to. Roman didn’t mean it, he’ll apologize anytime now. Instead, Roman launched into an angry rant on how the performance was only a few weeks away and he could not have any problems. Patton swallowed his pain and listened patiently.  ~~Of course he didn’t apologize. Why would he apologize, you’re not worth it.~~ ~~~~Roman eventually pranced off, not even looking at the food Patton had made. That’s okay. He just wasn’t hungry. He lied to himself as his voice in his head spoke those painful truths. He switched from the golden liquid to something clearer, relishing the coldness. Water would clear his head better. The foggy feeling had grown somehow, making it hard to think. He just wanted to get in his onesie and watch cartoons and use- nope, nope. Patton noticed that Virgil hadn’t come downstairs. Putting on a smile, he grabbed Virgil’s plate of food and headed to the young one’s room, ignoring the inkling in his bladder. He was a big boy, he could hold it. Woah. Where had that thought come from? He knocked on the door, which swung open on his touch. Virgil was curled up in a ball on his bed. Patton gently approached him, food in hand. “Virgil, honey, are you okay?” He walked closer, not touching him, not too close. Patton launched into the regular script, that he and Virgil had worked on for instances like this. “Virgil, remember what we do when your anxiet-” Suddenly, Virgil lashed out and hissed at Patton, slapping the plate out of Patton’s hands and onto Patton. Both people started, Virgil as if coming out of a trance, and Patton... The shock of Virgil lashing out ~~You went too close, you moved weird, you messed up,dumbass~~ and the plate hitting him was too much and Patton released, soiling his pant and the carpet below. Suddenly everything was just too much, and Patton sank to the ground crying. He was tired, he was sleepy, he wanted to be taken care of. 

Virgil looked on in horror as Patton sobbed on the floor. He’d seen his friend cry before, but this was different. This seemed...younger, for lack of a better word. As if a child was crying. He gingerly approached Patton and carefully wrapped his arms around him. Patton curled into the embrace but cried even harder. 

“Shh. Shh,” Virgil consoled, rubbing Patton’s back, trying to mirror what Patton would do for him. 

“I’m sowwy,” said the sobbing person. Virgil faltered in his rubbing a little but continued to console the fatherly figure. 

“It’s okay, it was an accident.” 

Patton sobbed into Virgil’s shoulder. “Fiwst Lo tells me to weave, then Ro doesn’t apowogize, and now I made a mess. I’m really sowwy.” Virgil stoped rubbing, making up for it with a quick squeeze before holding Patton at arms length. 

“Pat, how old are you?” 

“This many.” And Patton held up four fingers.

 

Hoo, boy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, hey y'all. Been a coupla days. Here we go!

After Patton's confession, Virgil was shaken. He tried not to show it, cooing at Patton which made the typically father-like figure giggle.  ~~~~It was adorable, though Virgil wasn't going to admit that. At some point, Patton fell asleep curled up in Virgil's lap. Virgil carefully placed Patton on his bed, took off his glasses, and made to move away, but Patton was gripping his midsection. The grip tightened when Virgil tried to shift, and Patton stirred, so Virgil settled back down. He took out his phone, quickly lowering the brightness and putting it on nighttime mode so as to not wake up the sleeping man-or, child now. He positioned his phone behind Patton's head, so the light didn't hit his eyes. Patton had buried his face into Virgil's chest and had draped an arm and a leg over him, like a body pillow. Virgil had a pretty good idea as to what happened, and he prayed to whatever deity that was messing with his life here that he was wrong, but a quick google confirmed his suspicions. Patton had gone into litlespace. Virgil knew about it, as it was a common stress reducing technique. But it had never appealed to him, not with a past like-

_What, you're a baby? You're like 6 you can get your own food. Fuck of-_

Nope, nope. Flashbacks were dangerous. Flashbacks got too real. Plus, he had worse problems. Patton never seemed to have any stress. In fact, he was the antithesis of stress. Somehow, Patton got everything done, with cupcakes on the side and a smile on his face. It was one of the reasons Virgil l-

Nope. Feelings are dangerous too. Especially that feeling. Virgil was taken from his thoughts by Patton mumbling in his sleep.

"No, no, you can't. You can't hurt my daddy." Patton had the sweetest look on his face as he slept(not that he looked bad when awake-No, no, bad Virgil). It was almost a Roman-like determination, with a slight nose scrunch and the eyebrows brought together just so.

Virgil, acting on a whim, carded a hand through Patton's hair and said, "Right here, cookie." Patton snuggled closer, mumbled a quiet 'daddy', then fell silent. Virgil was shocked, and a little touched. Patton chose him. His mind couldn't let him enjoy the moment for too long, reminding him it was only because Patton was asleep and Virgil was the closest one, he pick the others at-wait. The others. What had Patton told him?

_“Fiwst Lo tells me to weave, then Ro doesn’t apowogize, and now I made a mess."_

Oh. Virgil burned with a hot anger. He was going to have to talk to the others, nobody hurt his cookie. Wait, wait, wait. His cookie. When had Patton become 'his cookie'? Virgil needed to calm down. Though the others did need a talking-to. 'You were the final straw, though. You pushed him over the edge. It's all your fault,' his mind reminded him. Well, that was true. Virgil decided that when Patton woke up, they could all sit down and have a chat. Patton was good at those. As if on cue, Patton sleepily blinked open his eyes. 

"Viwgil?" Patton asked. Virgil felt a sense of despair and something else. Relief? No, no. Why would he be relieved. It's not like he liked taking care of people or anything. He wasn't dad material. He wasn't a good model, he wasn't-

He cut himself off. This was not the time. Patton needed him, so Virgil needed to swallow his pride and be the dad. "Yes, Patton?"

Patton giggled. "You okay!"

Virgil smiled despite himself. "Why wouldn't I be, cookie?" Damn, you said that, now Patton's gonna hate you and-

Patton's grin dissipated, forming a stone in Virgil's stomach. "Thewe was a bad guy with a snake face and he kept saying mean things to me then you came and he  _hit_ you," the way Patton said hit was so scandalized, as if that was the worst thing in the world, "so I came and I told snake dude not to huwt you and then he pushed me so you pushed him so he went poof. You called me cookie in the dweam too." Suddenly, Patton was shy, hiding his face in Virgil's chest before peeking out and saying, "In the dweam you said-you said I could caw you daddy."

The stone in Virgil's stomach got heavier. "It's okay coo-Patton. You don't have to if you don't want to."

Patton shook his head vigorously. "No, no. I wike it. I wike when you caw me cookie, and-" the shyness came back "-when you said I could caw you daddy. Can I?"

Virgil's face lit up. "Of course, cookie." His use of the nickname made Patton giggle. Virgil decided to bring up the events of the day. His voice became more serious. "Patton, can you tell me what happened today?"

Patton's face fell, and Virgil was tempted to call it off, tell Patton he didn't need to say anything, but Patton began to talk. "So, in the mowning, I went to tew Lo to come for bekfas. But he was so mean. So I dwank apple juice."

Virgil interrupted. "Apple juice?" he asked.

Patton looked confused, as if he didn't understand the question. "Yup. A wot of apple juice. Then Ro came and he was mean and he didn't even say sowwy!" Patton's eyes were lit with the special kind of anger kids had, easily appeased but bright as hell. "So I dwank more apple juice and then I dwank watow. Then I came to see you and-" Patton stopped as if just realizing something. "You hit me! And you didn't even say sowwy!" 

Virgil felt horrible, the rock in his stomach that had been slowly dissolving regained mass. "I'm sorry Patton, I understand if you want to leave." Virgil shifted to get off the bed, but Patton held on tightly, not letting go.

"Nope, you said sowwy, I'm good now." Patton looked up to Virgil's face to see tears that had gathered unknowingly. "Don't cwy daddy, its aw wight."

Virgil was confused then noticed the tears which he quickly wiped away. "Thanks cookie. Then what happened?"

Patton launched straight into it.  "Then the pwate hit me and I did peepee and was a bad boy then you hugged me and I feww asweep." Virgil then noticed the pee still staining Patton's clothes and now his clothes and his bed. 

"We're gonna have to get you changed, cookie. Me too." 

Patton realized what he had done and started crying again. "Oh no, I messed youw cwothes, I'm so sowwy."

Virgil was quick to comfort Patton, who fell asleep again. It made sense. The poor man worked so hard, he probably never got enough sleep, no matter what he told the others to do. Anyway, Virgil didn't have classes until Monday, and it was Saturday. Plenty of time to figure things out. He ran to the bathroom and quickly showered and changed. By the time he got out, Patton was sitting on his bed, sucking his thumb. The bed sheets would have to be changed, but that could come later. 

"So, champ, you ready to change clothes?" Virgil smiled brightly, as Patton would have done for him. This child version of Patton was bringing something out in him, something that had been suppressed until now. Patton cheered. Virgil got Patton off the bed and they walked hand in hand to Patton's room. Roman was out of the house, he would be until lunch which was in 30 minutes, and Logan spent pretty much all his time in his room nowadays, which he had soundproofed so they couldn't bother him when he was in a mood. It was only when they had Patton's closet opened that Virgil realized he would have to change Patton's clothes and give him a bath, seeing that the man was now four. He didn't know if consent counted when you were in headspace, what if when Patton went back to normal he hated Virgil, Virgil didn't think he could handle that, oh my god-

Patton interrupted Virgil's intrusive thought spiral. "Aw you gonna change me? Cause I dunno how to do it myself." Virgil decided that he'd just ask for apology later, and if he got kicked out so be it. Patton needed him now. 

Still, it didn't hurt to ask. "Cookie, I'm gonna need to give you a bath. I'm not your immediate family, so you're gonna have to tell me I can do it. No one is allowed to touch you if you don't let them, okay?"

Patton looked confused. "You're my daddy, of course you're family!"

Virgil was exasperated, he needed an answer. "Patton, may I give you a bath?"

Patton, still confused, said, "Of course!" So Virgil gave Patton a bath, they played and sang and had fun, and Virgil tried to suppress the rising feelings that were not at all fatherly. Bad enough that he liked one but-Nope, we've been through this, we don't bring it up. Patton had some kid-like clothes and onesies that Virgil had seen before but never thought of. When Patton was fresh, Virgil went into the kitchen. He was actually a pretty good cook, but his memories of cooking were not the best.

_So you fell off the stool and burnt your hand, dumbass? You ruined the dinner. Ruined!_

But Virgil swallowed the pain and made a simple meal of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. He asked Patton what he wanted to drink.

"Apple juice in Steven, please!"

"Steven?"

Virgil followed the direction Patton pointed in and found a rainbow sipper decorated in Steven Universe stickers. Another clue. Had Patton been in littlespace before? Ignoring the question, Virgil dutifully poured the specified juice in the cup, screwed on the lid, and handed it to Patton.

"Finish your food and you'll get cookies," said Virgil in a singsong voice.

"Cookies for cookie!" exclaimed Patton, and the two sat and laughed together. The lunch evolved into a game of Pattycake(pronounced Pattoncake) and the duo didn't realize the doors opening. That's why Virgil mirrored the shocked expressions of Logan and Roman as they stared upon the odd sight.

Patton, in the typical four year old way, left nothing to suspicion.

"Hiya! I'm Patton Cookie and I'm four years old!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note to y'all, I'm a dom trying to write this so correct me if I'm wrong anywhere.
> 
> Also, four year olds actually have zero filter. My baby sister got in trouble for getting into fights at school(she's four but in kindergarten and she talks like a 23 year old) and later that day when we went out to the park she told a random stranger the whole story. All of it.
> 
> If only politicians were all four years old. There would be no news.

**Author's Note:**

> I typed this on my phone so tell me if you see typos and stuff. Also, phone, it’s Virgil not Virgo, not Virgin. Virgil. 
> 
> And sowwy not Soweto or sowed.


End file.
